The Time of Contempt

This crowded sequel to the Polish bestseller Blood of Elves mashes up political intrigues, military maneuvers, magic duels, and monster hunts. Geralt, the Witcher (a magic-boosted warrior), and his beloved, the sorceress Yennefer, try to protect Princess Cirilla, heir to a conquered land, from the Empire of Nilfgaard as it attempts to absorb all the Northern Kingdoms. The Nilfgaardian Emperor Emhyr var Emreis sends hunters to pursue Ciri and to disrupt a conclave of mages while his troops roll over his squabbling neighbors. Ciri is forced to flee on her own through an unreliable portal, facing a variety of ordeals while Geralt searches for her. French’s translation piles on clichés and contemporary English slang (“raining cats and dogs,” “have a butchers”) to play up Sapkowski’s fondness for anachronisms such as mages arguing over the killing of endangered species. Sapkowski moves the plot quickly amid a welter of names and lightly sketched histories, giving the world depth but also confusing the reader at times. (Sept.)